hefner



(No Model.)

W. H. HEFNER.

GATE.

No. 559,'799. Patented May 12, 1896.

UNITED STATES ATENT nmen.

lVILLlAllI ll. HEFNER, OF ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA.

GATE.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,*799, dated May 12,1896.

Application filed October 21, 1895. Serial No. 566,378. (Ne model.)

Te all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, W'ILLIAM H. HEFNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rock Hill, in the county of York and State of SouthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates;and I do deelare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appert ains to make and use the same.

This invention relatcs to improvements in gates; and it has for itsobject to facilitate the opening and closing, the closing movement beingautomatic, while in the opening movement the gate rises, so as to clearitself from dirt, snow, ice, and other obstructions which may be on theground beneath it.

The iuvention and its many advantages will appear from the followingdescription and claim, when taken in connection with the annexeddrawings, in which- F'gure l is a perspective view of a gate with my improvements applied; and Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section and partlyin elevation, of th?) hin ge-post with my improvem ents in position.

Referring by letter to said drawings, A indicates a gate, B thekinge-post, and C the latch-pcst. These parts oonstitute no portion ofmy invention, and they may be of any ordinary or approved constructi onbeing here shown simply :for the purpose of illustrating myimp'ovements.

The gate is connected with the post B by two hinges, the upper hingecomprising a section having a bolt a, which takes through a suitableaperture in the post B, and is th readed at its inner or free end, asshown at b, to receive a nut c or the like, for securing it to saidpost. The opposite end of this section is provided with a pintle (Z,which rises from a head or shoulder e, and is screw-threaded at itsupper end, as shown at f, to receive a tension -nut D. The sti-ap orsection E of the upper hinge, which is secured to the gate, has theusual vertically disposed eye g to receive the pintle d. The pintle issufficiently long to allow the eye portion of the section E to playvertieally thereon, and a spiral or other suitable spring F is placedupon the pintle between the section E and the nut D. This nut ispreferably a cap-nut, as better shown at Fig. 2 of the drawings, and itsscrew-tapped aperture is sufficiently deep to permit it being turneddown upon' the spring F, so that should the latter become loose in useit may be materially strengthened by the manipulation of the nut. Thelower hinge ooinprises a section which is mainly of the sameconstruction as the corresponding section of the upper hinge, and issecured to the hinge-post in a similar manner. From the outer end of thelower section G rises a bar or arm H. This arm, which is appronimatelyfiat, is twisted transversely, as better shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawings, and the sharpness of the twist depends upon the eXtent ofvertical movement it is desired to give the gate in openin The sectionGr has a stop or shoulder e at the base of the twisted arm H. This armserves as a pintle for the lower hinge in addition to giving the risingand falling movement to the gate in opening and closing. The strap orsection I of the lower hinge, instead of having a circular eye, has aneye L of a configuration corresponding in cross-section to the twistedpintle or arm I-I.

By the Construction described it will be seen that as the gate starts inits opening movement it will ride up on the pintles by reason of thelower pintle being twisted, and when the operator lets go of the gate,the spring f acting to force it down upon the pintle, the twisted onethereof will move the gate to a close, and the force which it isdesigned to employ in closing the gate may be regulated according to theforce and tension of the spring employed.

Having described my invention, what I claim is The combination with ahinge-post and a gate; of the lower hinge having one section providedwith a fiat twisted pintle, and the other section having an eyecorresponding in cross-section to a cross-section of the pintle, theupper hinge having one section provided with a pintle threaded at itsupper end and the other section having a circular eye to receive thesame, a cap-nut on the threaded end of the pintle, and the springinterposed between the cap-nut and the adjaeent section of the hinge andsurrounding the pintle, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM I-I., HEFNER. 'Witnesses 2 J AS. R. BoULwARE, PAUL WORKMAN.

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